PlayBook Network Error - Try Again (when using WiFi)

I have seen a few posts here and there about issues connecting to WiFi with the PlayBook and various errors.

I had this today for the first time and found a possible cause. Searching other threads I do not see any information pertaining to this so forgive me if it's been solved.

Today when I went to use my PlayBook on my WiFi, sites were stalling, etc. And I would get "Network Error - Try Again". (Or something very close to that).

When I viewed my PlayBook WiFi I noticed that oddly it was not showing my access point (which is present/on/working). WiFi was on on the PlayBook- it just did not show any association with my access point.

Last night before bed I had done something I almost never do. I had turned off the WiFi on my Bold.

(I always have my Bold bridged as well.)

Here's the interesting part. When I turned the WiFi back on on my Bold the PlayBook instantly saw the access point again.

So, while I do not know the exact sequence to reproduce, it appears that turning off WiFi on a bridged BlackBerry *might* under some circumstance affect the PlayBook's ability to "see" WiFi access points.

Perhaps some other folks can test this out. I am going to mess with it a bit later as well.

What I am specifically interested in is not so much the network error (whose cause is obvious), but rather if anyone else can make their PlayBook not see WiFi access points by turning off the WiFi on their BlackBerry while bridged.

Could it be related to the ip address assignments and the pb had an assignment "after" the phone. With the phone gone, maybe the address numbering was reassigned? And I admit, I know nothing about network tech and am purely speculating.

I used to have that problem a lot with my old WiFi router as I bought the cheapest one I could find at Office Depot and while I never had network issues when using my netbook or even my iPod Touch on it, it was a constant issue with my PlayBook. I had adjusted the settings on my router (including the firmware) based on the info from a number of threads here and still had issues. A few months back I decided to upgrade to a newer router and haven't had any network issues with my PlayBook since (I've not even had any App World issues either.).

While going out and buying a new router may not be the ideal choice to solve the problem, it may be something to look into if your router is more than a few years old.

Could it be related to the ip address assignments and the pb had an assignment "after" the phone. With the phone gone, maybe the address numbering was reassigned? And I admit, I know nothing about network tech and am purely speculating.

No. Associating to the access point and aquiring an IP address are separate.

Additionally I use all static IPs on my home network so the IPs are always constant.

I used to have that problem a lot with my old WiFi router as I bought the cheapest one I could find at Office Depot and while I never had network issues when using my netbook or even my iPod Touch on it, it was a constant issue with my PlayBook. I had adjusted the settings on my router (including the firmware) based on the info from a number of threads here and still had issues. A few months back I decided to upgrade to a newer router and haven't had any network issues with my PlayBook since (I've not even had any App World issues either.).

While going out and buying a new router may not be the ideal choice to solve the problem, it may be something to look into if your router is more than a few years old.

Thanks but it is not the router. I manage an IP network for a living and I know the router is ok in this respect. The router was never touched in this scenario.

1. I was using the PlayBook and my phone last night, bridged and both on the WiFi in my living room. Both always have static IP addresses at home.
2. I went to bed and turned my WiFi and Bluetooth off on the phone. (I normally leave everything on).
3. I got up and first went to use the PlayBook -- no web pages would load. It showed no bridge connection (of course since I turned off the BT on the phone). But it also showed *no WiFi access point association*. That is curious because the WiFi and bridge should not affect one another to my knowledge. WiFi was "On" on the PlayBook, but there was no AP association. Never had that occur at home before.
4. So I decided to turn off the cellular radio on my Bold and pull some YouTube clips via WiFi only to test. When I looked at my Bold I saw I had WiFi off and then remembered turning it and Bluetooth off before bed.
5. I got suspicious at that point. I turned the WiFi radio and the Bluetooth radio back on on the Bold. I immediately looked at the WiFi on the PlayBook and all of a sudden it showed the SSID for my access point.
6. I tried surfing on the PlayBook and it still did not load pages. After a reboot all is well.

The curious aspect (and it could all be coincidence) is that my PlayBook for the first time ever lost the AP association at home and it is the first time in memory that I have gone to bed and turned off all the radios on my phone except the cellular, while I was bridged.